Recycling coffee cup scheme to launch in Manchester

Manchester is set to be over-run with giant coffee cup bins as environment charity Hubbub aims to save 20,000 cups from going to landfill by recycling them into useful new products.

Every year 2.5 billion ‘paper’ coffee cups are being thrown away in the UK (seven million a day), and it’s estimated that less than one per cent are actually recycled.

The #1MoreShot campaign, is the first high street recycling scheme of its kind in the UK, starting on 12 October. Over three months, 11 bins in the shape of giant coffee cups are to be been placed up and down one of Manchester’s busiest streets, Oxford Road, collecting paper cups only, which will then be recycled.

Hubbub have partnered with Groundwork and Manchester City Council, along with coffee retailers to redistribute the recycled products to benefit the local community and the environment. If successful, the scheme is likely to expand, with a number of local authorities keen to run the campaign.

Gavin Ellis, Co-Founder of Hubbub “This new initiative will test an innovative new technology and discover whether the public will separate out their coffee cups if specialist bins are provided. We urgently need to change the way we dispose of the 2.5 billion paper cups that are thrown away every year, as currently only one in 400 cups are being recycled. If this is successful, it can be extended to other cities across the UK as a number of local authorities have already put their name forward.”

Nigel Murphy, of Manchester City Council, said: “The council needs to find an alternative solution to prevent coffee cups from going to waste, and we know that the retailers have the same opinion. This new partnership will bring the coffee cup agenda to the Manchester public, and will result in real change, benefiting the local community at the same time.”

The scheme has the support of high street companies, including Caffé Nero, Costa, Greggs, KFC, McDonald’s, Nestle, Pret a Manger and Waitrose.